_______ _______ _______ _______ ( ____ \|\ /|( ____ )( ____ \( ____ ) | ( \/| ) ( || ( )|| ( \/| ( )| | (_____ | | | || (____)|| (__ | (____)| (_____ )| | | || _____)| __) | __) ) || | | || ( | ( | (\ ( /\____) || (___) || ) | (____/\| ) \ \__ \_______)(_______)|/ (_______/|/ \__/ _______ _______ _______ _______ ( ____ \( )( ___ )( ____ \|\ /| | ( \/| () () || ( ) || ( \/| ) ( | | (_____ | || || || (___) || (_____ | (___) | (_____ )| |(_)| || ___ |(_____ )| ___ | ) || | | || ( ) | ) || ( ) | /\____) || ) ( || ) ( |/\____) || ) ( | \_______)|/ \||/ \|\_______)|/ \| ______ _______ _______ _________ _______ _______ _______ ( ___ \ ( ____ )( ___ )\__ __/|\ /|( ____ \( ____ )( ____ \ | ( ) )| ( )|| ( ) | ) ( | ) ( || ( \/| ( )|| ( \/ | (__/ / | (____)|| | | | | | | (___) || (__ | (____)|| (_____ | __ ( | __)| | | | | | | ___ || __) | __)(_____ ) | ( \ \ | (\ ( | | | | | | | ( ) || ( | (\ ( ) | | )___) )| ) \ \__| (___) | | | | ) ( || (____/\| ) \ \__/\____) | |/ \___/ |/ \__/(_______) )_( |/ \|(_______/|/ \__/\_______) ______ ______ _______ _ _ _ |_____] |_____/ |_____| | | | | |_____] | \_ | | |__|__| |_____ ______________________________________________________________ _____ _ |_ _| | | | | |_____ | | | / / _ \ _| |_| < __/ \___/|_|\_\___ ______________________________________________________________ _____ _ _ __ |_ _| | | | | / _| | | __ _| |__ | | ___ ___ | |_ | |/ _` | '_ \| |/ _ \ / _ \| _| | | (_| | |_) | | __/ | (_) | | \_/\__,_|_.__/|_|\___| \___/|_| _____ _ _ / __ \ | | | | | / \/ ___ _ __ | |_ ___ _ __ | |_ ___ | | / _ \| '_ \| __/ _ \ '_ \| __/ __| | \__/\ (_) | | | | || __/ | | | |_\__ \ \____/\___/|_| |_|\__\___|_| |_|\__|___/ #1 ~ About the guide [INT01] #2 ~ About the Character [CHR02] #3 ~ Ike, the good, the bad, and the ugly. [CHR03] #4 ~ Standard Moves [MOVE4] #5 ~ Special Moves [MOVE5] #6 ~ Final Smash [FS006] #7 ~ Universal Tactics [UT007] #8 ~ VS Specific Characters [CHR08] -Fox/Falco/Wolf -Meta Knight -Donkey Kong -Mario/Luigi -Link/Toon Link -Ike -Olimar -Samus #9 ~ Fighting Ike [FOE09] #10 ~ FAQ [FAQ10] #11 ~ Legal Stuff [LAW11] __________________________________________ #1 ~ About the guide [INT01] __________________________________________ Hi! This is my first guide on GameFAQs, I wrote it 'cause I noticed there aren't a lot of guides on Brawl yet, and none on specific characters. I'm good with Ike, so I figured I'd start by making one about him. Hope you learn something in the process of reading this guide! Enjoy! _______ ______ _______ _________ _______ _______ |\ /|( ____ )( __ \ ( ___ )\__ __/( ____ \( ____ \ | ) ( || ( )|| ( \ )| ( ) | ) ( | ( \/| ( \/ | | | || (____)|| | ) || (___) | | | | (__ | (_____ | | | || _____)| | | || ___ | | | | __) (_____ ) | | | || ( | | ) || ( ) | | | | ( ) | | (___) || ) | (__/ )| ) ( | | | | (____/\/\____) | (_______)|/ (______/ |/ \| )_( (_______/\_______) 03/09/2008 Got the game! Used Ike for the first time! _________________ 03/10/2008 Started the guide, left some things out, but plan to add them ASAP! Oops, too wide! Shortened length for GameFAQ's standards! _________________ 03/11/2008 Rejected by GameFAQs for "Lack of Content", so I added more content. -Extended the "About the Character" Section considerably. -Added more questions to FAQ section. -Added Mario/Luigi, Link/Toon Link, and Ike to section 8 -Added field, "Use?" to the special attacks section -Added feild, "Knockback" to the standard attacks section -Added paragraph about standard moves to standard moves section. -Added paragraph about special moves in special moves section. _________________ 03/13/2008 Rejected again!? Aw man! -Added three new sections: -Ike, the good, the bad, and the ugly.(Pros and Cons) -Universal Tactics -Fighting Ike -Made a small enhancement to the layout of Special Moves -Better spacing in some areas. -Added Olimar and Samus to Section 8 -Added more to FAQ section _________________ 04/26/2008 -Fixed typo, GoldenBlender changed to GoldenBender. (Sorry!) -Revised Olimar section (Easy to Medium) -Added a section about fighting Marth __________________________________________ #2 ~ About the Character [CHR02] __________________________________________ Ike is a Heavyweight character, and they are usually REALLY slow, in my opinion, Ike is the fastest heavy character, but he is still much slower than most characters. His speed, or in this case, lack there of, is one of the things that make him tricky to use well. His recovery isn't bad, but it's not good either, it's just meh, if he gets knocked too far off the stage, he won't be making it back. Despite his cons, Ike is actually a very tough character thanks to his high powered and versitile moveset! He may not have long range moves, but despite being slow it's not hard to get close to your foe with him, thanks to his awesome >+B attack. Fighting Pit? Is he flying too high? No problem, Ike is also an AWESOME anti air character since his ^+B goes so high, and dose loads of damage. His smashes are also very devastating, and his final smash is generally a one hit kill! Players with hopes of learning to use Ike will need to work on timing. Timing is everything with heavy characters beacause you only get one shot with most of their attacks before dealing with a major delay, which leaves you wide open for a faster character to land a hit. Thankfully, Ike is loaded with hard hitting but chargable attacks, making the job of timing them right much easier, and even come with a decent defencive move for when the foe attacks a little too fast to handle. This makes Ike the best of the heavies in my opinion, which is why I have him on my top three favorite characters to use list. Ike is not a beginners character, that is for sure, but he shouldn't be too hard for a veteran from Melee to use, and with a little practice you'll find he is plenty good enough for competitive battles over wi-fi. He even makes up for the lack of a ranged special attack with his far flying >+B attack. Versitile, and powerful, though a little slow, Ike is a good yet slightly unbalenced character for anyone to use. __________________________________________ #3 ~ Ike, the good, the bad, and the ugly. [CHR03] __________________________________________ The good: -Devastating attacks, can finish foes at lower damage than most other characters can. -Excellent Anti Air and Anti Spam moves! -Great at getting the smash ball, and a great final smash! The bad: -Fairly slow. -Linear recovery abilities. -Vulnerable after delivering most of his moves. The ugly (Final verdict): -Hard to learn how to use, but worth learning! __________________________________________ #4 ~ Standard Moves [MOVE4] __________________________________________ Standard moves are always important, seeing as most charaters don't have hard hitting specials... Well, Ike does, but that doesn't mean you should forget these! Ike has a nice lineup of hard hitting standard moves for you to utilise, so I'll list them here. (Thanks Xen0nex for damage guide!) Standard A Damage: 4 Knockback: Very Small Triple A Damage: 4>5>7 (Total: 16) Knockback: Low>Low>Medium Strong Forward A Damage: 15 Knockback: Medium Smash Forward A Damage: 22-30 Knockback: Very High Strong Down A Damage: 14 Knockback: Medium Smash Down A Damage: 13-16 Knockback: Medium High Back Smash Down Damage: 13-16-22 Knockback: (Untested yet) Strong Up A Damage: 9-12 Knockback: Medium Smash Up A Damage: 17-23 Knockback: Very High Neutral Aerial A Damage: 9 Knockback: Low Forward Aerial A Damage: 13 Knockback: Medium Low Back Aerial A Damage: 14 Knockback: (Untested) Down Aerial A Damage: 12-16 Knockback: Medium (Higher when used as Meteor Smash) Up Aerial A Damage: 14 Knockback: Medium Low Throw Forward Damage: 6 (2-4) Knockback: High Throw Back Damage: 6 (2-4) Knockback: High Throw Up Damage: 6 (2-4) Knockback: Medium High Throw Down Damage: 6 (2-4) Knockback: Medium __________________________________________ #5 ~ Special Moves [MOVE5] __________________________________________ Ike has, in my opinion, some of the hardest hitting specials in the game. Most specials have different and interesting uses, and Ike is no exception, but it just so happens that every single one has excellent knockback and damage when used correctly. Eruption Buttons: B Damage: 10% when used immidiately, 37% fully charged, backfires for 10% when charged Use?: Occasionally Example Uses: A foe comming up beneath on a fallthrough platform, great for repelling them. Good for Multi-man brawl, a nice highly spammable move. Nice for a foe dashing towards you, can catch them off guard, and preventing damage to you. Discription: Ike slams his sword into the ground, and a wall of fire burts out of the ground. Thisn move can be charged to do more damage, but will backfire some damage at full power. Aether Buttons: Up+B Damage: A maximum of 25% when you hit with all 7 potential hits Use?: Often Example Uses: Great for anti air, making it effective against flyers like Pit, Meta-Knight, and Kirby. Excellent for retreving Smash Balls. And of course, for recovery. Discription: Ike throws his sword into the air, then leaps upward, catches it, does a front flip, and slams it downward. Very potent when you get a perfect shhot at the foe, but that is pretty hard to do, especially when the foe has high damage. Counter Buttons: Down+B Damage: 1.2%*Damage of foe's attempted attack Use?: At close range if necessary Example Uses: Reflecting Close Range attacks, dodging projectiles. Discription: An attack where Ike Guards with his sword, then counters when attacked. A basic Defensive move. Quick Draw Buttons: Forawrd(Or back)+B Damage: 9%, 16% when fully charged Use?: Often Example Uses: Getting close to foe for a combo, getting Smash Ball, Recovery, Finishing a foe trying to escape. Discription: This move can be charged, it doesn't take very long for a full charge either, and can be held at full charge for unlimited time. (without moving) When the B buton is released Ike charges forward (Farther for full charge) and nails the foe with a horizontal swipe! Does leave Ike vulnerable for a short period of time if he misses. __________________________________________ #6 ~ Final Smash [FS006] __________________________________________ The first step to this is, of course, getting the smash ball. The thing is, Ike is slow, and unless you're fighting DK, Gannondorf, or some other slow character, it won't be easy to get without your special moves. If it's high, get under it and use ^+B, if it's at the other end of the screen, use >+B charged to make a guge leap forward, and hopefully hitting it. If someone else gets it, try to strike them down to get it back, unless they have a short range final smash, in which case, RUN! Once you get the smash ball, Ike has a brutal Final Smash, but it can be hard to hit with due to it's close range. The easiest way to hit with it is to wait on the biggest platform (if there is one) for an unlucky victim to fall onto it and walk too close. The problem with this plan is the fact that while you wait, someone can easilly drop down and strike you from above, stealing your chance at a one hit kill, and potentially landing one on you with their own final smash. So I recommend this method: Jump to a large platform that someone is standing on, make sure you're at the far end to make suer you aren't attacked by one of thier smash attacks, and in order to set you up for the next step. Use your >+B attack, don't charge it, just tap it, to give you a quick push forward, and unleash your final smash immideately to avoid being vulnerable too long. This should put you in a good place to use it, but there is no guarantee it'll work, as >+B DOES leave a moment of vulnerability, even though it's not very long. You CAN hit all three foes, but it's very hard to pull off, so I recommend just aiming for one. However if there is a group of two or three hanging around, I reccomend aiming for them. Final Smash: Great Aether When activated correctly, Ike's final smash is usually a one hit kill. It hurls them into the air, where Ike unleashes a flurry of firey sword swipes, after taking a bunch of damage already from that, he drops to the ground where he creates an explosion, doing massive damage and sending all opponents flying. This FS does a total of 64% damage. __________________________________________ #7 ~ Universal Tactics [UT007] __________________________________________ This section is for Strategies and Tactics you can use in just about any battle, regardless of the foe you're facing! These are things you may have already learned on your own, and can easilly be learned simply through practice, but in case your new, these are good to read when getting started! Example Map Key: O = Ike, End point o = Ike, Starting point X = Foe, End point x = For, Starting point + = Smash Ball = = Stage . = Air ^ = Trajectory -Slash & Dash Ike has great smash attacks, but his weaker ones have uses too! After an A>A>A combo, you will knock your foe a decent distence, though usually not enough to land a kill, however, they sould have been launched at a diagonal trajectory: ......................... ......................... ......................... ......................... ............X............ ..........^.............. ........^................ ....Ox^.................. ========================= ========================= Perfect opportunity for you to charge your >+B, and dash right into them when they hit the ground! An easy tactic to use on foes experienced and new alike! -Easy Smash Ball You know the smash ball is usually up in the air, and doesn't come down for you to whack it very often, thankfully Ike has a great aerial striking ability called aether! It's perfect for retrieving the smash ball, and doesn't leave you hanging afterwards for some other player to swoop in and steal your smash ball! ......................... ......................... ...........O............. ...........+............. ...........^............. ...........^............. ...........^............. ...........o............. ========================= ========================= -Edge Guard Most characters have a move they can use to smack a player away from the edge when they're attempting to recover, and Ike is no exception! His neutral B attack is perfect for this, why? Because it not only strikes right in front of Ike, but a little above, and by an egde, even a little below, perfect for that stubborn Mario with his uppercut, or any character with a vertical recovery, as well as horizontal. There are a few recovery moves that get around this, and of course it won't work if they're coming in too high, but nonetheless this makes a great edge guard! ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............................X. ........................O...^... =========================x^..... =========================....... ................................ -Unflinchable (Thanks for pointing this out Goldenblender!) When using the special moves Eruption, and Aether, you WILL NOT FLINCH! You can still take damage, but if you're standing face to face with an undodgeable final smash, this may just save your life! It can also be used against the Master Hand, and even Tabuu! -Two ways to recover Ike, like many other characters, has two recovery moves, a vertical, and a horizontal one. The ^+B Special attack is vertical, useful if you're near the edge, but under it, the other, Quick Draw, is best when you're above the ledge, but father from it. both trajectories are shown below. ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................^^^^^o.. .................^^^^^.......... ...........^^^^^................ ........O^...................... ................................ ========^....................... ========........................ ................................ .........^...................... .........^...................... .........^...................... .........o...................... -Edge hog A fun tactic to use with Ike! When holding the edge of the stage, drop, and immideately use Aether! You'll jump up, and land right back where you began, sound useless? It's not! It's perfect for those guys who hang out by the edge waiting to smash you when you come back up, and while doing this you cannot be killed, you can take damage, but you're practically invinsible in most cases, well... That's assuming they don't come down after you... So don't spam this for long! However, this tactic gets it's BEST use on the bosses of SSE! A lot of them guard the edge, making it nearly impossible to get back, but with this tactic you can deal a fair about of damage, without getting smacked around too much! ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..X.....o....................... ....^...^....................... ......^x^....................... ========O....................... ========^....................... ........^....................... ........^....................... ........^....................... ........o....................... ................................ -Spamming Don't do it! That's right, this tactic is one you SHOULDN'T do! No, I'm not saying this because it's cheap and unstylish, (though it is those things too) but because it's an easy way to get annihilated by other players. You may gett away with it on low level computers and Multi Man Melee, but it won't work against other players or better computers, so it's best just not to get used to using it. __________________________________________ #8 ~ VS Specific Characters [CHR08] (INCOMPLETE!) __________________________________________ ~Fox / Falco / Wolf (Difficulty: High) These guys are REALLY hard to fight with Ike since they're so dang fast, you won't be able to outrun them, so to catch up with them use a fully charged >+B. When they start to use their >+B or ^+B, get ready to use your V+B, and as soon as they start use it to counter it, and avoid damage. Smash when they come too close, combo with A>A>A if it doesn't hit fast enough. Even with all this they'll be hard, so you'll need a lot of skill to defeat them! ~Pit (Difficulty: Medium-Low) Another fast one, but he should be no problem with Ike. Due to Pit's great recovery abillity, the only way to kill him is with a strong attack that sends him off the screen too fast for him to fly back, for which one of the best characters for the job is actually Ike! He even has ^+B for when Pit tries to fly too high for you, which will usually inish him off if he has much damage. To counter his arrows, make sure you guard, and Roll Dodge to get closer. Finish him with Smashes, an easy win for Ike! ~Meta Knight (Difficulty: Medium) Though a flyer like Pit, Meta will be a bit harder than him. Since Meta Knight is also a close range fighter, Ike is fairly evenly matched, though Meta IS faster, so you will need good timing. You'll want to use V+B quite a bit for Meta Knights rapid sword slashes. ^+B will come in handy whenever Meta Knight takes to the sky as well. If he gets the smash ball, DO NOT attempt to steal it, just get as far away as you can! If there are other players, let him take them out instead, but if it's one on one, and he waits for you, you have two basic options: 1) Stand at a medium, not too far, but out of range of Meta Knight's FS, and chrage up a >+B attack. There is no guarantee this will work, but it only gives Meta a split second to use his move, so you have a chance. 2) Get above him, and us a down smash, or ^+B if there's no platform above you, this won't take a charge up like last method, but provides Meta with more time to use his FS, and takes away the element of surprise. ~Donkey Kong (Difficulty: Low) Donkey Knog is one of those charaacters that are slower than Ike, so speed won't be an issue here. Another bonus is that DK isn't very versitile, as he only has short range attack moves. His moves are very heavy hitting though, so make sure you're really to bring out Ike's V+B, but with DK being the slow brute that he is there's a slight delay before he attacks, giving adaquate time to counter. He will be very easy to hit with your >+B thanks to his extra slow reaction time as well. This guy shouldn't be a problem for Ike! ~Mario and Luigi (Difficulty: Medium-High) Another tricky one because they're so fast. Mario and Luigi's fireballs shouldn't be a major issue because the don't do much, but they can be a problem when used often as those little percentages add up, so if they bring them out, Guard or Dodge them and crawl close enough to use a nice big smash attack. The real worry here are Mario's (and Luigi's) standard moves, as they're fast, and deadly. When they start comboing you to death, use V+B, it'll get them off you for a while and prevent further damage. Mario's throws are serious buisiness, so if he gets you in a hold, struggle like your life depends on it, because in a lot of cases, it does. If he does throw you, use >+B to get back, as Mario's throws are fairly horizontal. If he charges at you, get Standard B charging, if he backs off, release it and strike with >+B instead, otherwise Release it when he gets close to deal a heavy blow. When you're recovering, Mario may jump towards you, Mario has a very nice Meteor Smash, so use ^+B to hit him, you'll then make it back to the stage, or potentially drag him down with you. ~Link/Toon Link (Difficulty: Medium) To start, Link has a ton of long range weaponry, three of his four special attacks are long range, and they're all threats, so keep your pointer finger ready to push Z when he throws something at you. Up close he shouldn't be too hard, he's faster than you, but you can take care of that with use of the V+B attack, then when he's down, charge and fire a smash attack. While he's falling, get >+B ready to deal anothewr blow for a nice combo. Of course, unless you're fighting a n00b, he won't let you do that, he'll probably use his ^+B spin attack to attempt to get outof your reach, but are we that easilly taken care of? I don't think so! When you use that >+B and miss, you should be in a good spot to use ^+B, and having already used his recovery move, Link will be helpless to avoid it. That's right, the way to win this match is combos, and LOTS of them! Link will be trying the same thing on you, but fourtunately for you, you have V+B counter, and he doesn't. Just V+B when he trys to sword combo, ^+B when he trys to jump away, >+B when he runs, and smash when you get the chance to take care of him. His final smash is a one hit KO, and there'll be no V+Bing THAT move, so try to stay constantly above or below him. ~Ike (Difficulty: N/A) Um... Yeah... Pretty much any strategy you can use can and will be used against you. Play it safe, hit and run tactics are your friend! V+B when your little clone trys to smash attack you, jump when he uses >+B to avoid that. Not much can be said about this battle, it all comes down to skill here. ~Olimar (Difficulty: Medium) Okay, my first verdict was inaccurate, I've faced two skilled Olimar Users since writing this the first time and Ike cvan actually have some trouble with Olimar. Unlike most characters who have quick moves to shake off the pikmin, Ike takes some extra time to shake them off due to his slower moves. He also has some issues dodging them thanks to his lack of speed. HOWEVER! I find that Once you can get past the Pikmin, Olimar is very vulnerable to Ike's attacks. Olimar isn't one of the heavier characters, so he'll get knocked back pretty far, he is also without any good defencive skills, Even his triple jump works more like a hookshot and won't allow him much evasivness. His biggest defence is his Pikmin, and they may be a good one, but they're all he's got. Do watch out though, he still has some nice close range moves as well, though Ike's have a bit longer range, and certainly hurt a lot more than his. To get around the Pikmin, use your rolling dodges when Olimar throws a Pikmin, they're 10 times more reliable than Ike's V+B, they also give you horizontal movement which you'll need to get close enough, and the V+B may kill his Pikmin, but keep in mind that it takes him but a second to build up his little army once again. When you get there, just use a simple smash attack to knock him back, it'll only take a few of these to finish him off. ~Samus (Dificulty: Medium-Hard) She may not be very fast, but a hardy helping of long range projectiles and long range throws make this a truly tricky fight for Ike! Remember, the R/Z button is your friend! Dodge and Guard the long range weaponry, but make sure your sheild doesn't break or you're an easy target for a fully charged beam! When you get close though, you're in the clear, Samus shouldn't be too fast for you to get close enough for a smash, she has no counter or (decent) close range specials, and her smash attacks are no more than average. The ONE thing you should really worry about at close range are her throws. They, like all throws, go through sheilds, and being long range, are a real threat! However, like most long range throws, she will be vulnerable if she misses, so jump when she does, and use aether! ~Marth (Difficulty: Hard) Marth is one of Ike's hardest opponents, why? Because Marth is fast and flexible, he can counter Ike's massive range and power without breaking a sweat! He has a V+B Counter just like Ike, with one fatal difference, HIS doesn't take long to recover from, YOURS on the other hand will leave you vulnerable for pleny of time for marth to pull out his deadly sword dance, or his charging special move, and as soon as your momment of counter time ends, you'll be half way to china! Don't use the counter unless you KNOW it's going to work, and don't hit Marth while HE'S countering. What do you do if he does? Simple, grab him! Counter won't work noe grabs, and though your grabs are weak, they at least do something. Marth also has nothing for Aether thanks to it's unflinchable porperty, don't spam it, but use it when the pressure starts to become too much. His sword dance is lethal, but it's one of those times when it's a good idea to counter, it'll catch Marth off guard and give you some time to regain your composure. >+B is useful in some cases, but use it sparingly as it's also easy to counter. It isn't, however, as easy as it is for him to counter your Smash attacks! THAT'S BAD! Ike's smashes are one of the things Ike has always had going for him, his painful killer smashes! When to use them then? After a grab while Marth is lying down is a good time since he can't counter in that position. Careful though, he CAN do a rolling dodge in that spot and hit you from, behind. In the end this battle comes down to pure skill, something you can't learn from a guide. Go practice with some level 9 Marths until you can beat them, and if you meet one on Wi-fi, good luck! (You'll need it!) __________________________________________ #9 ~ Fighting Ike [FOE09] __________________________________________ So maybe you're a really intense Brawl player, who doesn't just read character guides to play as that character, but rather to learn how they work so you can beat them easier. You might not be here to learn how to USE Ike, you might be looking for how to BEAT Ike. If that's the case, I'm gonna make your search a little easier! This section is dedicated to players who just want to learn about Ike's weaknesses, and I know as much about those as I do his strenghts! First of all, we all know he's slow, so obviously the easiest kind of character to beat him with is a fast one, in particular, Fox, or Sonic. The idea is to wait for HIM to attack first, make sure you're close enough to rush in and attack, but out of range of his massive sword. Then when he launches one, (and hopefully, misses) he'll be out inm the open, and very vulnerable, which is your chance to give him a smash attack, or grab and throw him! Watch out though, he does have a few special attacks that can easilly counter faster characters, which are: B: Creates a small but deadly wall of fire in front of Ike, which can catch anyone running at Ike off guard. V+B: Counters attacks used against Ike, dealing back 1.2x the damage used. >+B: A speedy dash in one direction, then striking whatever Ike runs into first. So as you can see, even with a fast character, Ike ain't a pushover! Also, avoid being directly above Ike, as he has a nasty aerial attack called aether, try to get WAY over his head with a triple jump if you have no choice but to to cross paths with him, and whatever you do, unless he's in a vulnerable position, DO NOT walk directly in fornt of him unless you want to be struck down by some of the heaviest smash attacks in the game! Alternatively, if you're using a heavy character, (besides Ike) DO try to get close to him, but stay cautious! When he's about to use a smash attack, press thje guard button, and hold until he's struck, leaving you open to attack with your own smash attack! Ike's throws are surprisingly weak, so they shouldn't be an issue, your sheild should be enough to protect you from harm. BUT if you can, try to use a rolling dodge to get behind him for your smash attack! It'll give you more time to charge it up since you won't have to wait for him to finish! you can also grab from this position if your character is a good thrower! __________________________________________ #10 ~ FAQ [FAQ10] __________________________________________ Q: Hey! I used [Insert Move/Tactic Here], and it didn't work like you said! A: E-mail me, (Or PM) and tell me how it DID work, then I'll test it again, and update the information accordingly. Q: Ike stinks! A: That's not a question, and he doesn't stink, you just stink at using him. Q: What do you mean when you say an attack's damage is X-Y, do you mean X minus Y? A: No, if you do the math that's a negative number for every attack, and I'm pretty sure his Smash attack doesn't heal foes. Nope, what I mean is it does a minimum of X, meaning under the worst circumstances if it hits it will do X, and Y is the absolute MOST damage it'll do, assuming you have no powerups, and you've fully charged it. Q: >+B? (Or whatever) A: Holding Forward while pressing B. Q: Um... For the throws, it says "Damage: 6 (2-4)", what's that mean? A: I honestly... Don't know... I took the info from Xen0nex's guide (A very nice guide by the way!), I'll test them and put it more clearly in the next version of the guide, okay? Q: Your method for using Ike's FS is horrible! Have you tested it? A: Sorry, it's not a very refined strategy, I'm looking for better ones, if you know a better way, tell me! I'll also look for new ways, and add them as I learn them. Q: YOUR FAQ RULES! A: Again, not a question, but thanks! Q: You just made these up! Put up some real questions! A: I will when you ask me a question! PM me! Q: What's your FC? A: I'd post it, but it'l do no good seeing as you can't post YOURS here, so if you want to fight me, again, PM me! Q: Ike is so slow! There's no way I can beat a character like Pikachu or Mario using him, or at least not on any higher difficulty! A: As I've mentioned before in the guide, heavy (slow but powerful) characters require good timing to succeed, wait for the right time to strike, don't just rush in and use the typical button mashing. It takes a lot of practice if you aren't used to it, but you'll get the hang of it, make use of the nice range of attack in his >+B and ^+B to stop over-confident characters who try to run circles around you. For more info, read section 8 on specific characters. Q: [Insert character here] is better, why should I use Ike? A: That character may SEEM better because they're easier, but with practice any character has their uses, even Jigglypuff! No, you don't HAVE to use Ike, the point of this guide isn't to convince you to use Ike, it's to help people who WANT to use Ike, but need some help. Q: Okay, so we all know you use Ike, do you use any other characters? A: I don't haev a main, but Ike is indeed one of my best characters. Apart from Ike, I also like to use Pit, Falco, and Mario. Q: Hey! You stole info from some other guide! A: If I did, I credited them in section 11, otherwise, it may be a coincidence that some info might be simlilar to another guide, but I wrote the whole thing myself. Q: What are Ike's Taunts? A: Easy to learn by experimenting for ten seconds, but I'll list them anyway: Up Taunt: Ike Groans and lights up with fire while holding his sword in front of himself. Side Taunt: Ike says "Prepare yourself" Down Taunt: My personal favorite, when it slams his sword into the ground and crosses his arms. Q: Ike is too common, I don't want to use him 'cause I wanna be unique! A: That's fine and dandy, but you're missing out on a good character just because other people think he's good. I'll admit, I've said the same thing before about other characters in other games, but seriously, if that's your ONLY reason NOT to use him, then why not use him? After all, you probably have other reasons not to use the other characters right? Q: I'd use Ike, but I've never played Fire Emblem A: Me niether, how is that stopping you? Q: HEY! In that other question you said this wasn't a guide to try to convince people to use Ike, but those last questions were doing just that! A: And you still don't have to use him, just voicing my opinions. Q: You didn't answer the last question... A: Okay already! Sheesh! Yes, I was giving reasons to use Ike, but why not? If you're reading this guide it's probably 'cause you're thinking of using Ike as a main or at least secondary anyway, right? Doesn't hurt to make that decision a little easier, right? Q: I'm a total Smash n00b! I wanna get started (with Ike), but how? A: First of all, try fighting CPUs, start at level one, then if you win, move up to two, then three, and so on, until you get beat, the level that beats you is the one you should train on! Once you can beat it, move on to the next level! Once you can beat level 9s, you're ready for actual players go to th GameFAQs boards and ask people to play with you, that's the BEST way to practice! By now you aren't a n00b, and should be able to play fairl well! __________________________________________ #11 ~ Legal Stuff [LAW11] __________________________________________ For use ONLY on GameFAQs (for now) or wherever else I may post this before updating it. If you use the info in writing your own guide or whatever, make sure you credit me by my GameFAQs username, Absolute__Zer0. Super Smash Bros. Brawl is copyrighted by Nintendo. Credits: Absolute__Zer0: I wrote the guide. Xen0nex: For the damage Guide I used to get statistics on Damage. Goldenbender on (wH): For reminding me about the unflinchable side effect of Aether and Eruption. You: For reading!